Congress would give schools an additional $3 billion to help them run meal programs this summer and during the next school year under an agreement announced by key lawmakers on Tuesday. The agreement would scale back the number of children who receive meals for free — at present, all of them do — and set reimbursement rates for meals at higher rates so schools can cope with rising food prices.
“While this bill does not go as far as I would like in supporting our nation’s students, it is a meaningful step,” said Rep. Bobby Scott, chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. Senate Agriculture chairwoman Debbie Stabenow said time was running out since the current set of nutrition waivers expires on June 30. “Congress needs to act swiftly to pass this critical help,” she said.
During the pandemic, the USDA issued waivers that allow schools to serve meals for free to all pupils, increased the per-meal reimbursement and permitted more flexibility in following nutrition standards for meals. A full-bore extension of the waivers would cost $11 billion a year.
The agreement among Democrats Stabenow and Scott and Republicans Sen. John Boozman and Rep. Virginia Foxx would cost $3 billion, according to an informal summary of the package. It would extend waivers for meal programs this summer and allow free meals to students who otherwise would qualify for reduced-price meal. The USDA was due to adjust reimbursement rates for inflation on July 1 and the agreement would set the reimbursement for breakfast 15 cents and for lunch 40 cents above the inflation adjustment. “No-cost” waivers that help schools deal with supply chain disruptions would remain in force.
Before the pandemic, roughly 1.7 million students a day paid a reduced price for a school lunch out of 29.6 million meals served. An average 20.1 million students from lower-income households qualified for free meals daily.
Foxx said agreement would “keep the permanent pandemic narrative from being used to expand school meal programs beyond their intended purpose.”
“School nutrition professionals have withstood crippling supply chain breakdowns, rising prices and labor shortages in their efforts to provide students healthy meals, at a time when families are struggling with higher costs,” said Beth Wallace, president of the School Nutrition Association. “With crucial federal waivers on the verge of expiring, this agreement offers school meal programs a lifeline to help build back toward normal operations.”
The antihunger Food Research and Action Center said school food programs needed long-term improvements to address “our nation’s hunger crisis.” It supported the $3 billion agreement as a way to mitigate the loss of pandemic waivers on June 30.
To read the legislative text of the agreement, click here.